The first song I wrote was Left With Nothing. In the early days, I didn't know how to access the midi drumset sounds, so the drums on this and other early songs are not so hot. I had the initial intent of fitting lyrics to this song, but never did that. I also wrote Captain with the idea that lyrics could be attached later, but that also remains undone.
I have an absolute favorite original melody that I keep referencing musically in my songs - I call it "Rite." It's featured in Rite of the Cloudchaser and Rite of Succession. Rite of the Cloudchaser came out like some kind of overture, and I later decided to go back and break it up into more coherent chunks. Fragments have since turned into Amazing Updraft, Elders Theme, Emotion, Learning to Fly, Tower, and unknown 2.
Rite of the Cloudchaser was written as part of the first Composition Competition. I gave two measures of "Rite" to two peer novice composers and we all tried to write a song with that as part of the main theme and see who could do better. I challenged another round of whippersnappers a few years later to a second Composition Competition; my submission was Backbeat v-2. Unfortunately, neither time did any of the judges cast a vote, so no winners were declared.
I like writing for a lot of instruments, although the only thing I can play is trombone, so don't have masterful expectations. However, most experimentally, I have written a few songs for just a piano: the ones called unknown. I would like names for these, so if you listen to them feel free to toss ideas at me.
Originally my inspiration for songs came largely from video games, but that has changed as I got more comfortable with the composing process. Songs that reflect the video game mentality include [but aren't nearly limited to] Comfort, Fighting Force, Hideout, Home, Overworld - Mountain, Something Must Be Done, The Little Girl, and Town.
Some of the songs have lyrics. Quiet Reflection was the first song I finished with full lyrics, and I later revamped it as Quiet Reflection Renewed. That one is a personal and meaningful song, as are some of the others. However, there are also playful romps and songs with lyrics that have no grounding in my own life. The Gate, for instance, was written for the fun of it after we read Dante's Inferno in hum.
Some of my songs have parts where a copyrighted melody slipped into my subconscious while I was writing. The opening of Rite of the Cloudchaser has been compared to the Moonlight Sonata, and the chorus of One for the Awesome sounds a lot like the A-Team theme song. There are many more I'm sure, and I'm sorry, but none are direct copies and none are intentional so let's all let it go.
Have fun!
Thank you
